Are You Walking in Love or Are You Walking in Pain?

This Thanksgiving I spent quite a bit of time alone with the Lord in deep prayer – and I want to share the Word that He spoke to me… Many times, when the Holy Spirit speaks to me, He speaks to me with questions to check myself, to enlighten me, to reveal things God wants to reveal.  And so, I bring this question before you…

Are You Walking in Love? Or Are You Walking in Pain?

His question surprised me and to be honest, it hit a nerve.  Often we think we walk in love, but if when you think about someone(s) and what comes to the surface when they come to mind, is pain – then the answer is obvious.  Love does not hurt. 1 Corinthians 13:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Holy Spirit has indicated to me that sometimes there is a purpose for our pain. Pain is an indicator that something is either wrong or something is in need of your attention, something needs to be changed.  

PAY ATTENTION TO PAIN, DON’T IGNORE IT – IT IS A RED FLAG

Pain captures your attention, pain can be a precursor to Holy Spirit showing you that there is a need for you to allow Him to teach you something through it, often when Holy Spirit wants to renew your mind and bring about a GOOD change in your thought process, the pain is one of growth.  If you have accepted Jesus as Savior, made Him Lord over your life, there is no way your mind can be transformed in the likeness of Jesus without feeling the spiritual growing spirts of your mind (full of earthly thinking) being transformed.  Not all pain is bad…  It is hard to let go of thought processes that were the way we were raised, engrained within us prior to us coming to Christ.  It is further hard when you are ostracized by those you love BECAUSE of that change.  The Bible tells us in Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

The crucifixion part for us as believers, is our old way of thinking… Developing the mind of Christ.  When we accepted Jesus as Savior, made Him Lord over our lives, we invited Holy Spirit (who is our Teacher, our Comforter, our Guide) into our hearts.  It is there He dwells to bring about the changes we need to ;earn in order to have the mind of Christ. And that change is one that occurs EVERY day of our lives.  He renews us, He transforms us, and transformation can be one of resistance and the pain that we as believers experience through the learning, can painful.

So, the question is – if you are feeling pain, what IS the cause?  What needs to be done about it?  Is there an area inside of you that Holy Spirit is showing needs work?  Is the pain you are feeling because that change is difficult to adhere to? Examine the pain and ask Holy Spirit what to do to alleviate it.  It may be that there is an area within you that He is calling you to be submissive and you are resisting… Ask Him to reveal the cause and to give you the strength and the will to turn that portion of you over to Him.  Sometimes this can be VERY hard and painful, but in the end rewarding… God knows us better than we know ourselves.

Do you hold unforgiveness in your heart?  Perhaps Holy Spirit is asking you to work on forgiveness… This can be exceptionally difficult, especially when it comes to situations where you feel an apology is in order, but one is not coming, nor will ever come if that person is unsaved or immature (stunted) in Christ.  Or has a religious spirit.  You can always tell if you still need to work on forgiveness if the mere mention of that person stirs up hurt – stirs up anger.  That kind of pain is one where Holy Spirit is using it as an indicator that you need His assistance in walking in forgiveness. Releasing that individual(s) to God and truly letting go.  The only way you can know that you have adequately done that is the peace that floods your soul and the proof that when their name comes up, it doesn’t stir up pain anymore.  Sometimes this takes asking Holy Spirit to heal your heart.  It may be something you have to be in continuous prayer about until the healing He does in you is complete.  It may be that you have to release them to God over and over and over again and verbally through prayer forgive them (as Christ has forgiven you).

YOU MAY BE WALKING IN PAIN, BUT GOD WANTS YOU TO GIVE THAT PAIN TO HIM. TO LEARN FROM IT. TO PAY ATTENTION (NOT IGNORE) IT. THERE IS A REASON FOR THE PAIN, IT DOESN’T GO AWAY WHEN YOU IGNORE IT. FACE IT. BRING IT TO GOD IN PRAYER.

Pain that we don’t identify and bring to the attention to the Father can become an open doorway for the devil.  It can become what he uses to stir up seeds of bitterness, hatred, anger and when it grows it can cause division and be used as a weapon and allow other spirits enter into your very soul.  I’ve seen this happen… You can tell a person who is filled with the root of bitterness, they are negative and pessimistic in nature. They are unhappy and jealous and envious of others. They hurt others without even being aware that they have become a bitter filled person.  God does not want you to live that way, it goes against ALL that He wants for you!  People who don’t bring their hurts before the cross allow those hurts to grow in ways that move them away from the Father instead of closer… We get to choose what we do with pain.

Pain is an attention getter – like a high temperature indicates a sickness or infection taking place within your physical body, pain is a warning sign that change is needed. Asking Holy Spirit (through prayer) is to show you the cause, to allow Him to renew your mind. To heal your heart.  You just need to pay attention to it and not brush it off. Face the pain and allow God to heal you, to show you what to do with it. There IS a purpose to pain, you only need to know how to respond. Bring the pain before God and ask Him to reveal through His Spirit what the reason or cause of the pain is? Is it unforgiveness? Is it fear? Is it that Holy Spirit wants you to establish boundaries that will help you guard your heart? As you go to the Father in prayer, He will reveal to you what it is that needs attention, healing, changing. He is faithful that way and will not leave you to figure out the pain on your own if you have brought the pain to Him.

“Father God, facing pain is not something that is pleasurable – it hurts! Lord, I give You all the painful areas within me and I thank You that I can bring them right to the foot of Your cross.  When I do, I pray You help me to leave them there.  I pray You would heal my heart… If there is ANYTHING that needs healing within me, I give it to You.  If there is any evil within me or anything that needs changing, I pray You would forgive me and help me to change. Whatever it is that is the cause of this pain, I ask You to reveal it to me. Help me to have the courage and strength to face it, identify it and allow You to do something about it that will bring about the change needed to make it go away.  If I have “people wounds” within me causing the pain, I give them to You right now by willingly choosing to walk in forgiveness.  Father, I forgive ___________________________________ 

(WRITE IN THE NAME OF WHOEVER HURT YOU)

“And I release them to You.  Father, I pray that You help me to let go of the pain they have caused me.  If I need to repeat my willingness to forgive them over and over until the pain is gone and the transformation in my heart has occurred, I will!  I choose to walk in forgiveness as You have forgiven ME.  You tell me in Matthew 6:15:

“But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

“Father, please help me to release them and to forgive them as you have forgiven me. Please take away the pain and bring peace so that when their name comes to mind, I feel nothing but Your love as I intercede on their behalf.  I pray not only that You would heal my heart and help me walk in forgiveness, but that You would transform their hearts as well.  Holy Spirit move on their behalf even as You are moving on mine.  I thank You Lord for guiding me, for healing me, for transforming me, I pray that You would continue to have Your way in my life.  Thank You Lord for helping me walk in love as YOU have/do walk in love for me.  Please give me the mind of Christ and continue to transform me as You would have me be.  I love You Father, I love You Lord, I love You Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

Often times choosing to go against the flesh and walk in accordance to the Spirit can be a painful process – but not ALL pain is bad, always ask God for the purpose of your pain and allow Him to minister to you and change that pain into a walk of love as you grow deeper into Him. He IS faithful and He cares.  He wants your walk to be one of love and not pain. We only have to bring everything to Him in prayer. \0/ \0/ \0/